Journal articles on the topic 'Riparian specialist'
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Warkentin, Ian G., Allison L. Fisher, Stephen P. Flemming, and Shawn E. Roberts. "Response to clear-cut logging by northern waterthrushes." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 33, no. 5 (May 1, 2003): 755–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x03-002.
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We examined the distribution and foraging behaviour of northern waterthrushes (Seiurus noveboracensis) in recently harvested and intact landscapes of Newfoundland. Data were collected along six 1-km segments of stream and adjoining upland habitat resulting in four treatments (harvested or intact, upland or stream) with three replicates each. Although known as a riparian specialist, we found waterthrush territories equally distributed across intact upland and riparian habitats. However, few waterthrushes occupied harvested uplands, while large numbers packed into riparian buffer strips adjacent to these 5- to 10-year-old postharvest clearcuts. Arthropod abundance and biomass were highly variable between years and across the four treatments, generating significant year × treatment interaction effects. Riparian habitat (in both intact and harvested areas) had consistently greater numbers of arthropod prey and more biomass than either upland habitat type. Northern waterthrushes foraging in riparian habitat adjacent to harvested uplands had lower attack rates and more frequent long flights than waterthrushes foraging in the intact treatment types. Prolonged packing of individuals into riparian buffer strips, and apparent adverse affects on waterthrush foraging efficiency, raise concerns about the effectiveness of buffer strips for sustaining viable populations of terrestrial riparian habitat specialists.
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Sinnadurai, Paul, T. H. Jones, and S. J. Ormerod. "Squeezed out: the consequences of riparian zone modification for specialist invertebrates." Biodiversity and Conservation 25, no. 14 (October 12, 2016): 3075–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1220-9.
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Ferris, Gavin, Vincent D'Amico, and Christopher K. Williams. "Determining Effective Riparian Buffer Width for Nonnative Plant Exclusion and Habitat Enhancement." International Journal of Ecology 2012 (2012): 1–7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/170931.
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Nonnative plants threaten native biodiversity in landscapes where habitats are fragmented. Unfortunately, in developed areas, much of the remaining forested habitat occurs in fragmented riparian corridors. Because forested corridors of sufficient width may allow forest interior specializing native species to retain competitive advantage over edge specialist and generalist nonnative plants, identifying appropriate corridor widths to minimize nonnative plants and maximize ecosystem integrity is of habitat management concern. We measured the occurrences of 4 species of nonnative plants across the widths of 31 forested riparian corridors of varying widths in the White Clay Creek watershed of Pennsylvania and Delaware. Using repeated measures ANOVA, Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora) prevalence did not significantly decline across buffer widths. However, garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and oriental bittersweet (Celastrus orbiculatus) declined strongly within the first 15–25 m. Managing for riparian corridor widths a minimum of 15–25 m has the potential to enhance habitat quality but no corridor width (≤55 m) will exclude all invasive plants.
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Smith-Ramirez, Cecilia, Juan L. Celis-Diez, Erik von Jenstchyk, Jaime E. Jimenez, and Juan J. Armesto. "Habitat use of remnant forest habitats by the threatened arboreal marsupial Dromiciops gliroides (Microbiotheria) in a rural landscape of southern Chile." Wildlife Research 37, no. 3 (2010): 249. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr09050.
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Context. Remnant forest patches in rural landscapes may be important sites for maintaining viable populations of restricted forest species, especially when these remnant habitats maintain some connectivity, for instance through riparian vegetation strips and other forest patches. Aims. We assessed the use of remnant forest habitats in a rural landscape of southern Chile (40°S) by the ‘near threatened’ arboreal marsupial Dromiciops gliroides (Microbiotheria), in relation to habitat type (riparian strips, forest fragments and continuous forests), width of the riparian forests, and the presence and abundance of the hemiparasite Tristerix corymbosus, whose fruits are readily eaten by D. gliroides. Methods. In two summers, 2004 and 2008, we set up grids of 96 live traps for three consecutive nights at each of 16 sites along two riparian forest strips, four additional sites in remnant, non-riparian forest patches, and four more within continuous pre-Andean forest. We counted hemiparasites on trees in the trapping grid area, and estimated their individual volumes. Key results . In total, 48 individuals of D. gliroides were captured at all sites during the 2 years. We documented a significant positive relationship between the width of riparian vegetation and the number of individuals captured (r s = 0.78, P = 0.02, n = 8) for one riparian strip, but not for the second one. Neither habitat type nor the frequency of hemiparasites related statistically to D. gliroides abundance. Key conclusions. We conclude that in the rural landscape of the Chilean Lake District, narrow riparian forest strips, in a highly inter-connected mosaic of remnant forest patches may be as important as large patches and continuous Andean forests to sustain viable populations of this threatened, strictly arboreal, marsupial. Implications. The present study reports, for the first time, the presence in narrow riparian forests immersed in a pasture-dominated agricultural matrix of this forest-specialist marsupial, which was previously known only from continuous pre-Andean forests.
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Gillies, C. S., and C. C. St. Clair. "Riparian corridors enhance movement of a forest specialist bird in fragmented tropical forest." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105, no. 50 (November 18, 2008): 19774–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803530105.
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Casatti, Lilian, Fabrício Barreto Teresa, Thiago Gonçalves-Souza, Eduardo Bessa, Angelo Rodrigo Manzotti, Cristina da Silva Gonçalves, and Jaquelini de Oliveira Zeni. "From forests to cattail: how does the riparian zone influence stream fish?" Neotropical Ichthyology 10, no. 1 (2012): 205–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1679-62252012000100020.
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The aim of this study was to verify whether taxonomic and functional composition of stream fishes vary under three different preservation conditions of riparian zone: preserved (PRE), intermediate condition (INT), and degraded (DEG). Five stream stretches representing each condition were selected. Samples were taken from each stream in three occasions during the dry seasons from 2004 to 2007. Electro fishing (PRE and INT), sieves, dip nets, and hand seines (DEG) were used according to the characteristics of each sampled site. Overall, 46 species were registered. Differences in the taxonomic and functional species composition among groups were found, following the condition of riparian zones. The ichthyofauna recorded in the PRE was typical to pristine environments, consisting of species with specialized habits, notably benthic insectivores, intolerant, and rheophilics. In the INT group, replacement of riparian forest with shrubs and/or grasses created environmental conditions which favor the occurrence of tolerant species but also harbor a residual fauna of sensitive species. DEG streams presented mostly detritivores, tolerant, small sized fishes which occupy the surface and preferred slow water flux. Changes in the species composition were represented by the occurrence and dominance of tolerant species in detriment of the more sensitive and specialist species, following the gradient of degradation in the riparian zone. Forested streams act as unique habitats to many specialized species and it can be presumable that the degradation of riparian vegetation can generate biotic homogenization which may reduce species diversity and ecosystem services.
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Vicente, Ricardo Eduardo, Wesley Dáttilo, and Thiago Junqueira Izzo. "New record of a very specialized interaction: myrcidris epicharis Ward 1990 (Pseudomyrmecinae) and its myrmecophyte host Myrcia madida McVaugh (Myrtaceae) in Brazilian Meridional Amazon." Acta Amazonica 42, no. 4 (2012): 567–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0044-59672012000400016.
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In this study we present a new record of a plant-animal interaction: the mutualistic relationship between the specialist plant-ant Myrcidris epicharis Ward, 1990 (Pseudomyrmecinae) and its myrmecophyte host Myrcia madida McVaugh (Myrtaceae). We observed more than 50 individuals of M. madida occupied by M. epicharis in islands and margins of the Juruena River, in Cotriguaçu, Mato Grosso, Brazil (Meridional Amazon). We discuss a possible distribution of this symbiotic interaction throughout all the riparian forest of the Amazon River basin and its consequence to coevolution of the system.
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Lourenço, Ana Cecília de Paula, and Maria Cecília Barbosa de Toledo. "Effects of proximity to urban areas on a riparian bird community in remnant Atlantic Forest in southeastern Brazil." Ambiente e Agua - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Science 14, no. 7 (December 26, 2019): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.4136/ambi-agua.2313.
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The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of urban activities on the structure and composition of a bird community in riparian forests in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The study was carried out in seven areas of remnant riparian forest where fixed points have been established to sample bird species. Richness, diversity, abundance, frequency and trophic groups were used as metrics of the bird community. At each point measurements were taken for: (1) habitat characteristics: average height of trees, number of trees above 2m, number of shrubs <2m and the percentage of canopy opening; (2) neighborhood characteristics: closest distance from open areas, highways, urban areas, river and floodplain to the point of observation. The observations resulted in 88 species of birds belonging to 34 families. The most representative families were Tyrannidae, Thraupidae and Picidae. The most predominant trophic groups were insectivorous (54%), omnivorous (11.5%) and frugivorous (10.3%). The results obtained showed that the number of trees explained the variation in abundance, while the mean height of the trees explained variations in richness and frequency. Overall, the bird community was negatively affected by proximity of urban areas and highways. In conclusion, the community of birds in the riparian forest may be affected by the loss of trees above 2m and by urbanization, leading mainly to the replacement of species belonging to specialist trophic groups by generalist species and those more adjusted to human presence.
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Osunkoya, Olusegun O., Karina Pyle, Tanya Scharaschkin, and Kunjithapatham Dhileepan. "What lies beneath? The pattern and abundance of the subterranean tuber bank of the invasive liana cat's claw creeper, Macfadyena unguis-cati (Bignoniaceae)." Australian Journal of Botany 57, no. 2 (2009): 132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt09033.
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Cat’s claw creeper, Macfadyena unguis-cati (L.) Gentry (Bignoniaceae) is a major environmental weed of riparian areas, rainforest communities and remnant natural vegetation in coastal Queensland and New South Wales, Australia. In densely infested areas, it smothers standing vegetation, including large trees, and causes canopy collapse. Quantitative data on the ecology of this invasive vine are generally lacking. The present study examines the underground tuber traits of M. unguis-cati and explores their links with aboveground parameters at five infested sites spanning both riparian and inland vegetation. Tubers were abundant in terms of density (~1000 per m2), although small in size and low in level of interconnectivity. M. unguis-cati also exhibits multiple stems per plant. Of all traits screened, the link between stand (stem density) and tuber density was the most significant and yielded a promising bivariate relationship for the purposes of estimation, prediction and management of what lies beneath the soil surface of a given M. unguis-cati infestation site. The study also suggests that new recruitment is primarily from seeds, not from vegetative propagation as previously thought. The results highlight the need for future biological-control efforts to focus on introducing specialist seed- and pod-feeding insects to reduce seed-output.
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Law, Bradley, Mark Chidel, and Peter R. Law. "Multi-year population dynamics of a specialist trawling bat at streams with contrasting disturbance." Journal of Mammalogy 101, no. 2 (February 18, 2020): 433–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyz210.
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Abstract Habitat degradation leads to homogenization of biological communities, often due to the dominance of generalist species over specialists. Yet data as to how life history attributes of specialists vary with such perturbations remain sparse. We compared long-term population dynamics of a specialist trawling bat, the large-footed myotis (Myotis macropus), between two forested catchments. One forest stream was nutrient-enriched from dairy farming in its headwaters and a portion of its surrounding catchment was harvested for timber during the study, while the other was located in primarily undisturbed forest. We caught and banded bats annually at their roosts over 14 years and banded 529 individuals with a 45% recapture rate. The maximum time to recapture was nine years and there was no evidence for transiency in our populations. Mark-recapture analyses allowed for investigation of the dependence of survival on time, sex, and age at marking. Our study spanned extreme El Niño and La Niña weather events, but we found little variation in survival, although recruitment was lower during drought. Mean minimum winter temperature (positive) and rainfall (positive) had weak influences on survival. Survival of adults (~0.70) and population size of adult females was similar between the two sites, suggesting that neither timber harvesting with retained riparian buffers nor eutrophication from farming influenced survival. Survival of adult males and females was similar, but survival of juveniles was less than half that of adults, probably due to a combination of mortality and dispersal. Survival was three times lower immediately after one of the timber bridges used as a roost fully collapsed. Specializing on aquatic habitats buffered M. macropus from most extreme weather, but there was also evidence for possible mortality and recovery after an intense rainfall and flooding event immediately prior to the study. More frequent intense rainfall predicted with global warming may reduce the species’ resilience over time.
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Uria-Diez, J., A. Gazol, and R. Ibanez. "Drivers of a riparian forest specialist (Carex remota, Cyperaceae): It is not only a matter of soil moisture." American Journal of Botany 101, no. 8 (August 1, 2014): 1286–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.3732/ajb.1300443.
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Houston, W. A., and R. L. Black. "EFFECT OF A MAJOR FLOOD ON BREEDING AND HABITAT OF THE CRIMSON FINCH ( NEOCHMIA PHAETON ): A RIPARIAN SPECIALIST." River Research and Applications 30, no. 5 (April 18, 2013): 609–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rra.2660.
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Rabbe, Md Fazle, Nur Mohammad, Dipongkor Roy, M. Firoj Jaman, and M. Niamul Naser. "A rapid survey of herpetofaunal diversity in Nijhum Dwip National Park, Bangladesh." Reptiles & Amphibians 29, no. 1 (January 9, 2022): 9–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.17161/randa.v29i1.15794.
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The ecological effects of habitat use by herpetofaunal species vary widely and recognizing relative habitat value will help to improve conservation theory and practice in a particular landscape. To understand how different habitat uses influence diversity in riparian landscapes, we studied reptile and amphibian assemblages across major habitats (agricultural land, forest, human habitation, and waterbodies) in Nijhum Dwip National Park, Bangladesh. A total of 35 herpetofaunal species were found; among them, 17 were directly observed and 18 were reported from a questionnaire survey. Among the observed species, the Asian Common Toad Duttaphrynus melanostictus was the most commonly seen (relative abundance 0.32). We found that forest habitat contained a greater diversity of herpetofauna than other habitats followed by agricultural land, human habitation, and waterbodies. We also found 8 habitat specialist species and 9 generalist species in this study. Our results show that different habitats support different species assemblages in Nijhum Dwip National Park, signifying the importance of diversified habitats for the herpetofaunal population. Understanding this importance is crucial for identifying matrix environments that can complement the forest habitats of sensitive as well as specialist herpetofaunal species.
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Skroblin, Anja, Andrew Cockburn, and Sarah Legge. "The population genetics of the western purple-crowned fairy-wren (Malurus coronatus coronatus), a declining riparian passerine." Australian Journal of Zoology 62, no. 3 (2014): 251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo13087.
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We investigate the population genetic structure of the declining western subspecies of the purple-crowned fairy-wren (Malurus coronatus coronatus) in order to guide conservation management recommendations for this riparian habitat specialist. Our analysis of multilocus microsatellite data, from 79 individuals sampled from across the species’ range, indicates that M. c. coronatus occurs as genetically differentiated subpopulations that correspond to catchment boundaries or expansive gaps in habitat along waterways. The genetic similarity of large populations of fairy-wrens on four catchments (Fitzroy, Durack, Drysdale and Victoria) indicates widespread recent gene flow, whereas the high genetic distinctiveness of the Bindoola and Isdell catchments may reflect the current geographic isolation of these smaller populations. Genetic differentiation of these smaller geographically isolated populations affirms the negative effect that habitat degradation and fragmentation can have on population connectivity. A regional-scale approach to conservation with a focus on preventing degradation and enhancing connectivity may be critical to safeguard the persistence of M. c. coronatus subpopulations.
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Netto-Ferreira, André L., Míriam P. Albrecht, Jorge L. Nessimian, and Érica P. Caramaschi. "Feeding habits of Thoracocharax stellatus (Characiformes: Gasteropelecidae) in the upper rio Tocantins, Brazil." Neotropical Ichthyology 5, no. 1 (March 2007): 69–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1679-62252007000100009.
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The silver hatchetfish Thoracocharax stellatus is one of the approximately 200 fish species recorded for the upper rio Tocantins, in the region where it was impounded by the Serra da Mesa hydroelectric dam. Analysis of the stomach contents of 88 specimens revealed a diet consisting almost entirely of insects (99.6%), most of which were terrestrial (87.6%). Ants, beetles, and mayflies were the main food items. Dawn and dusk seemed to be the periods of highest foraging activity for T. stellatus. As a specialist on terrestrial insects, this species has a close connection with the region near the river bank, where prey is provided from the associated riparian vegetation. Despite the impoundment and depletion of the land-water ecotone observed in later stages of reservoir formation, no significant changes in the diet of the few remnant specimens were recorded, which seems to indicate little feeding flexibility. Thus, feeding seemed to be an overriding factor for the displacement of this species after river impoundment.
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Geraldo de Carvalho, Fernando, Leandro Duarte, Gabriel Nakamura, Guilherme Dubal dos Santos Seger, and Leandro Juen. "Changes of Phylogenetic and Taxonomic Diversity of Odonata (Insecta) in Response to Land Use in Amazonia." Forests 12, no. 8 (August 9, 2021): 1061. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f12081061.
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Changes in natural habitats for human use can alter the distribution of biodiversity, favoring species that are more tolerant to environmental disturbance. Usually, these species comprise clades of habitat generalists, which have biological mechanisms to colonize environments with different environmental conditions. However, such effects are still poorly understood for most biological groups, such as the Amazon odonates. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effects of land use along an environmental gradient on the phylogenetic and taxonomic diversity of Odonata in the Amazon. We tested the following hypotheses: In deforested areas (e.g., pasture for cattle, palm plantation, and logging), the Odonata community will be more taxonomically and phylogenetically impoverished than in forested areas. We assume that the modification of the natural habitat causes loss of specialist forest species and favors specialist species of open areas and/or habitat generalists. Data sampling was performed in 195 streams under different land-use types: livestock areas, palm monoculture, timber exploitation, and forest areas taken as reference sites. Our results showed that anthropogenic impacts affected the phylogenetic diversity of odonates and the increase in shrub vegetation was related to the increase in the phylogenetic diversity of communities. On the other hand, shrub vegetation is indicative of disturbed areas, where secondary vegetation predominates, with less canopy cover due to the absence or discontinuity of the native tree cover in these habitats. Nonetheless, species richness and abundance were not related to the effects of anthropogenic land use. Finally, our results suggest that the phylogenetic diversity of Amazonian odonates is related to riparian vegetation structure.
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Saab, Victoria A., and Kerri T. Vierling. "Reproductive Success of Lewis's Woodpecker in Burned Pine and Cottonwood Riparian Forests." Condor 103, no. 3 (August 1, 2001): 491–501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/condor/103.3.491.
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Abstract Lewis's Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) has been characterized as a “burn specialist” because of its preference for nesting within burned pine forests. No prior study, however, has demonstrated the relative importance of crown-burned forests to this woodpecker species by examining its reproductive success in different forest types. We studied breeding Lewis's Woodpeckers in cottonwood (Populus fremontii) riparian forest patches of Colorado and crown-burned ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of Idaho to compare their reproductive success, productivity, and potential source-sink status in the two forest types. Daily nest survival rates were significantly lower in cottonwood compared to burned pine forests. Nesting success was 46% (n = 65) in cottonwood forests and 78% (n = 283) in burned pine forests. Proportion of nests destroyed by predators was significantly higher in cottonwood forests (34%) compared to burned pine forests (16%). We consistently found crown-burned forests to be potential source habitat, whereas cottonwood riparian sites were more often concluded to be potential sink habitat. Cottonwood riparian forests were surrounded primarily by an agricultural landscape where the composition and abundance of nest predators was likely very different than the predator assemblage occupying a large-scale burn in a relatively natural landscape. Conversion of riparian and adjacent grassland landscapes to agriculture and prevention of wildfire in ponderosa pine forests have likely reduced nesting habitat for this species. Prescribed understory fire is the prevailing management tool for restoring ponderosa pine ecosystems. Conditions created by crown fire may be equally important in maintaining ponderosa pine systems and conserving nesting habitat for the Lewis's Woodpecker. Éxito Reproductivo de Melanerpes lewis en Bosques de Pinos Quemados y Bosques Ribereños de Populus fremontii Resumen. Melanerpes lewis ha sido caracterizado como un “especialista de quemas” porque prefiere anidar en áreas de pinos maduros quemados. Sin embargo, ningún estudio anterior ha demostrado la importancia relativa de los bosques de árboles con copas quemadas para este carpintero examinando su éxito reproductivo en diferentes tipos de bosques. Estudiamos M. lewis reproductivos en parches de bosques ribereños de Populus fremontii en Colorado y bosques de Pinus ponderosa con las copas quemadas en Idaho para comparar su éxito reproductivo, productividad y la condición potencial de fuente-sumidero de los dos tipos de bosques. Las tasas diarias de supervivencia de los nidos fueron significativamente más bajas en los bosques de Populus fremontii que en las áreas de pinos maduros quemados. El éxito de los nidos fue de 46% (n = 65) en los bosques de Populus fremontii y 78% (n = 283) en los bosques de pinos quemados. La proporción de nidos destruídos por depredadores fue signicativamente más alta en los bosques de Populus fremontii (34%) que los bosques de pinos quemados (16%). Encontramos consistentemente que las áreas de pinos con las copas quemadas son potencialmente hábitats fuente mientras que los bosques de Populus fremontii fueron considerados como sumideros potenciales con mayor frecuencia. Los bosques de Populus fremontii estaban rodeados principalmente por un paisaje agrícola donde la composición y la abundancia de los depredadores de nidos eran probablemente muy diferentes de las de un área quemada de gran escala en medio de un paisaje natural. La conversión de paisajes ribereños y de pastizales a áreas agrícolas y la prevención de fuegos naturales en los bosques de P. ponderosa probablemente ha reducido el habitat de anidación de esta especie. El manejo de fuegos planificados en el sotobosque es la técnica más utilizada para reestablecer los ecosistemas de P. ponderosa. Las condiciones creadas por el fuego en las copas de los árboles podrían ser igualmente importante para mantener los sistemas de P. ponderosa, incluyendo la conservación de los hábitats de anidación de M. lewis.
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Azevedo, Pedro G., Rafael M. C. Melo, and Robert J. Young. "Feeding and social behavior of the piabanha, Brycon devillei (Castelnau, 1855) (Characidae: Bryconinae) in the wild, with a note on following behavior." Neotropical Ichthyology 9, no. 4 (November 16, 2011): 807–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1679-62252011005000046.
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Knowledge concerning the behavior of wild freshwater fishes in Brazil is restricted to a few studies, despite such studies being able to answer fundamental questions about conservation. Species of Brycon are amongst the most threatened in the Neotropics, particularly in southeast Brazil, due to anthropogenic activities in this region. This study investigated the feeding and social behaviors of the endangered fish, Brycon devillei in the Preto River, Jequitinhonha basin, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Behavioral data were collected by snorkeling with four spatially separated groups (habituated), and direct observations of shoals were made using an underwater video camera (a total of 448 hours of observations). This species showed diverse tactics to obtain food. However, the species proved to be predominately a specialist surface-picker, which adopted alternative tactics to find food at certain times of the year, most notably when food items on the water surface became low. Feeding frequency was shown to be negatively correlated to agonistic behavior between conspecifics. Feeding associations were also recorded between the anostomid Leporinus garmani, acting as a nuclear species, and B. devillei, as follower species. The data presented here showed the importance of conserving the riparian environment to protect B. devillei populations. Furthermore, the present study included rare observations of nuclear-follower feeding association among freshwater fishes, especially between medium-sized characiforms, being the first observations of such kind in a Cerrado stream.
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Trnka, Filip, and Stanislav Rada. "Grasshoppers, crickets (Orthoptera) and earwigs (Dermaptera) of Tovačov gravel pit (central Moravia, Czech Republic): New locality for several thermophilous species in anthropogenic secondary habitat." Acta Musei Silesiae, Scientiae Naturales 64, no. 3 (December 1, 2015): 199–205. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/cszma-2015-0028.
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Abstract Study of Orthoptera and earwigs was conducted in Tovačov gravel pit in 2014. We have recorded 18 species of Orthoptera and 3 species of earwigs. The most significant recorded species are Cepero’s ground-hopper (Tetrix ceperoi), pygmy mole cricket (Xya variegata), Italian tree cricket (Oecanthus pellucens) and riparian earwig (Labidura riparia). Tovačov gravel pit poses the northernmost locality of T. ceperoi and X. variegata in the Czech Republic and the northernmost known locality in Moravia for O. pellucens. For the L. riparia, we present a founding from Tovačov together with another finding from Olomouc vicinity, which is currently the northernmost locality within Moravia. Our findings display recent spatial expansion of some thermophilous species. Moreover, we emphasize importance of (post)-industrial areas as secondary habitats for specialised endangered species.
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Sprößig, Claudia, Sascha Buchholz, and Frank Dziock. "Defining the baseline for river restoration: comparing carabid beetle diversity of natural and human-impacted riparian habitats." Journal of Insect Conservation 24, no. 5 (July 15, 2020): 805–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10841-020-00253-z.
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Abstract Near-natural rivers and riparian ecosystems can represent biodiversity hotspots harbouring many highly specialised, rare and endangered species. During the past centuries, these habitats have been heavily degraded by anthropogenic use, and therefore river restoration is one of the most striking fields of action that is legally defined by the European Union Water Framework Directive. Successful restoration depends on realistic and specified targets that should be defined beforehand and founded on status quo surveys. We present a comparison of carabid beetle communities in riparian habitats of natural and managed river sites of the Mulde River in the Biosphere Reserve Middle Elbe. This endeavour is part of a unique multi-level revitalisation project. Pitfall trapping in 2016 and 2017 yielded 111 carabid species with many species of conservation concern in natural and managed habitats. However, Simpson diversity and functional diversity were lower in the latter. Both habitats harboured specific species assemblages with characteristic indicator species. Additionally, the trap location on slip-off slopes or cut banks was a significant driver of species composition. Our results indicate high ecological development potentials for the Mulde River, but restoration should consider differences between slip-off slopes and cut-off banks. We postulate that future restoration will foster population increases as well as a wider distribution of rare and endangered riparian habitat specialists.
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Keir, Anita F., Richard G. Pearson, and Robert A. Congdon. "Determinants of bird assemblage composition in riparian vegetation on sugarcane farms in the Queensland Wet Tropics." Pacific Conservation Biology 21, no. 1 (2015): 60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc14904.
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Remnant habitat patches in agricultural landscapes can contribute substantially to wildlife conservation. Understanding the main habitat variables that influence wildlife is important if these remnants are to be appropriately managed. We investigated relationships between the bird assemblages and characteristics of remnant riparian forest at 27 sites among sugarcane fields in the Queensland Wet Tropics bioregion. Sites within the remnant riparian zone had distinctly different bird assemblages from those of the forest, but provided habitat for many forest and generalist species. Width of the riparian vegetation and distance from source forest were the most important factors in explaining the bird assemblages in these remnant ribbons of vegetation. Gradual changes in assemblage composition occurred with increasing distance from source forest, with species of rainforest and dense vegetation being replaced by species of more open habitats, although increasing distance was confounded by decreasing riparian width. Species richness increased with width of the riparian zone, with high richness at the wide sites due to a mixture of open-habitat species typical of narrower sites and rainforest species typical of sites within intact forest, as a result of the greater similarity in vegetation characteristics between wide sites and the forest proper. The results demonstrate the habitat value for birds of remnant riparian vegetation in an agricultural landscape, supporting edge and open vegetation species with even narrow widths, but requiring substantial width (>90 m) to support specialists of the closed forest, the dominant original vegetation of the area.
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Shirley, Susan. "The influence of habitat diversity and structure on bird use of riparian buffer strips in coastal forests of British Columbia, Canada." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 34, no. 7 (July 1, 2004): 1499–510. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x04-038.
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I investigated the role of habitat structure in explaining bird species richness and abundance in riparian buffer strips of old-growth coniferous forest on western Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Using buffer strips of varying widths and a control from undisturbed riparian forest, I tested the hypothesis that vegetation differs in buffer strips of varying width. I selected 10 summary variables to represent broad-scale vegetation attributes of riparian habitat. Deciduous tree density was higher, and shrub richness was lower in wide buffers compared with narrow buffers. I then used Akaike information criterion to examine whether vegetation structure or buffer width best explained patterns of bird richness and abundance in riparian habitats. Species richness and abundance in several foraging guilds were explained better by buffer width than by vegetation. Abundances of three bird habitat guilds: riparian specialists, forest-interior, and open-edge species, and 6 of 10 species were best explained by specific vegetation features. Differences in vegetation, particularly deciduous tree density and shrub cover, explained part of the variation in abundance of several riparian forest-dwelling species and may be useful in evaluating specific forest management practices. Because deciduous tree density is also positively correlated with buffer width, wide buffers (>100 m) may benefit not only those species associated with coniferous upland forests and forest generalists sensitive to buffer width, but also those species whose abundance is associated with deciduous trees.
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Pascoal, Da Silva Luís, Lopes De Carvalho Isabel, De Sousa Rita, and Norte Ana Cláudia. "First report of Ixodes lividus (Koch,1844) in sand martins Riparia riparia in Portugal." Systematic and Applied Acarology 25, no. 10 (October 9, 2020): 1883–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.11158/saa.25.10.11.
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Ixodes lividus Koch, 1844 (Ixodida: Ixodidae) is a specialised endophilic tick of the sand martin Riparia riparia whose distributional range matches that of its host in the Paleartic region. However, the presence of this tick species has not been described in Mediterranean countries where the sand martin also breeds. In this study, we investigated I. lividus infestation in 1,081 Riparia riparia individuals from two breeding colonies in central Portugal. In total, three I. lividus were collected from three sand martins (infestation rate of 0.28%). A molecular survey on these ticks did not detect the presence of any Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Rickttesia spp. nor Babesia spp. This report expands to the south and west the known distributional range of I. lividus in Europe.
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Nelson, Rebecca A., Emily J. Francis, Joseph A. Berry, William K. Cornwell, and Leander D. L. Anderegg. "The Role of Climate Niche, Geofloristic History, Habitat Preference, and Allometry on Wood Density within a California Plant Community." Forests 11, no. 1 (January 14, 2020): 105. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f11010105.
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Research Highlights: To better understand within-community variation in wood density, our study demonstrated that a more nuanced approach is required beyond the climate–wood density correlations used in global analyses. Background and Objectives: Global meta-analyses have shown higher wood density is associated with higher temperatures and lower rainfall, while site-specific studies have explained variation in wood density with structural constraints and allometry. On a regional scale, uncertainty exists as to what extent climate and structural demands explain patterns in wood density. We explored the role of species climate niche, geofloristic history, habitat specialization, and allometry on wood density variation within a California forest/chaparral community. Materials and Methods: We collected data on species wood density, climate niche, geofloristic history, and riparian habitat specialization for 20 species of trees and shrubs in a California forest. Results: We found a negative relationship between wood density and basal diameter to height ratio for riparian species and no relationship for non-riparian species. In contrast to previous studies, we found that climate signals had weak relationships with wood density, except for a positive relationship between wood density and the dryness of a species’ wet range edge (species with drier wet range margins have higher wood density). Wood density, however, did not correlate with the aridity of species’ dry range margins. Geofloristic history had no direct effect on wood density or climate niche for modern California plant communities. Conclusions: Within a California plant community, allometry influences wood density for riparian specialists, but non-riparian plants are ‘overbuilt’ such that wood density is not related to canopy structure. Meanwhile, the relationship of wood density to species’ aridity niches challenges our classic assumptions about the adaptive significance of high wood density as a drought tolerance trait.
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Kelly, Sean P., Elvira Cuevas, and Alonso Ramírez. "Stable isotope analyses of web-spinning spider assemblages along a headwater stream in Puerto Rico." PeerJ 3 (October 15, 2015): e1324. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1324.
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Web-spinning spiders that inhabit stream channels are considered specialists of aquatic ecosystems and are major consumers of emerging aquatic insects, while other spider taxa are more commonly found in riparian forests and as a result may consume more terrestrial insects. To determine if there was a difference in spider taxa abundance between riverine web-spinning spider assemblages within the stream channel and the assemblages 10 m into the riparian forest, we compared abundances for all web-spinning spiders along a headwater stream in El Yunque National Forest in northeast Puerto Rico. By using a nonmetric dimensional scaling (NMDS) abundance analysis we were able to see a clear separation of the two spider assemblages. The second objective of the study was to determine if aquatic insects contributed more to the diet of the spider assemblages closest to the stream channel and therefore stable isotope analyses ofδ15N andδ13C for web-spinning spiders along with their possible prey were utilized. The results of the Bayesian mixing model (SIAR) however showed little difference in the diets of riverine (0 m), riparian (10 m) and upland (25 m) spiders. We found that aquatic insects made up ∼50% of the diet for web-spinning spiders collected at 0 m, 10 m, and 25 m from the stream. This study highlights the importance of aquatic insects as a food source for web-spinning spiders despite the taxonomic differences in assemblages at different distances from the stream.
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da Rocha, Marcelo Carvalho, Maurício Beux dos Santos, Renato Zanella, Osmar Damian Prestes, Alberto Senra Gonçalves, and André Passaglia Schuch. "Preserved riparian forest protects endangered forest-specialists amphibian species against the genotoxic impact of sunlight and agrochemicals." Biological Conservation 249 (September 2020): 108746. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108746.
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Šlezingr, Miloslav. "Bankside trees and shrubs - specifics of the proposal for the vegetation arrangement." E3S Web of Conferences 45 (2018): 00083. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20184500083.
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Bankside trees and shrubs are an important element in landscape enhancement. Within stream regulation, we should try to propose necessary interventions to the river profile and its closest surroundings with maximum respect for existing vegetation. Having carried out technical adjustments, it is necessary to propose, in liaison with competent specialists, and to provide for the implementation of new planting, or reconstruction of riparian and accompanying stands. The planting of, and the consequential care for, bankside trees and shrubs should not be underestimated as unplanted areas within natural succession become overgrown with self-seeding species whose unsuitable location and species structure may impair the stability of slopes, flow ratios in the riverbed and, even in aesthetical terms, they do not have to necessarily make a good impression.
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Wessels, Reena, and Andrea Sundermann. "Habitat requirements of riparian arthropods on gravel bars: Implications for conservation and management of braided river floodplains." PLOS ONE 17, no. 9 (September 27, 2022): e0274977. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274977.
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In their pristine state, river landscapes consist of complex mosaics of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. They are highly dynamic and, with their harsh environments, offer living space for many specialists. In the present study, the habitat choice of specialists of the riparian arthropod community was studied on a near-natural stretch of the Upper Isar River. Study period was between May and July 2011. Araneae, Formicidae and Staphylinidae were the most common taxa. The dominant species was Pardosa wagleri with 1,092 individuals, followed by Arctosa cinerea with 184 and Paederidus rubrothoracicus with 154 individuals. These three species made up 54% of all located individuals and were considered as representatives for the invertebrate community. Remaining species had by far smaller proportions and were not determined further due to the low individual numbers. Habitat preferences for the three dominant species were analyzed using negative binomial regression. Common and important habitat features were non-silted and coarse gravel areas, which are neighboured by patches with an elevation 1m above the water. Furthermore, the absence of vegetation cover as well the absence of ants was crucial for the occurrence of the three model species. Habitat preferences were subject to seasonal influences due to various requirements of different life stages. Other influencing factors were competition and predation due to Formicidae and larger individuals of Lycosidae. This demonstrates the high importance of structurally rich riverbeds with a mosaic of distinct habitat patches for the three representative species. Our findings are a valuable contribution for the conservation and management of braided rivers and their characteristic gravel bar biocoenosis.
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Ballinger, Andrea, and P. S. Lake. "Energy and nutrient fluxes from rivers and streams into terrestrial food webs." Marine and Freshwater Research 57, no. 1 (2006): 15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/mf05154.
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Ecologists long have been aware that there is flux of energy and nutrients from riverine systems to the surrounding terrestrial landscape and vice versa. Riparian ecotones are diverse and ecologically important. Consequently, there is substantial literature examining faunal-mediated transfers of energy and nutrients from rivers into terrestrial food webs. A wide variety of taxa has been shown to utilise riparian resources, from species specialised for existence at the aquatic–terrestrial interface to opportunistic predators and scavengers. Outputs from rivers may be influenced by productivity gradients, channel geometry and the condition of the exchange surface. Until recently, consideration of faunal-transferred, allochthonous inputs has been peripheral to other research questions. The development of general models of inter-habitat transfers, together with advances in technology, has placed questions about the ecological importance of riverine outputs squarely on the research agenda. Researchers now are investigating how aquatic subsidies influence food-web dynamics at landscape scales. However, ecologists continue to largely ignore subsidisation of terrestrial food webs by energy and nutrients from floodwaters in lowland river–floodplain systems. The dearth of information about the benefits of flooding to terrestrial consumers appears to have resulted in underestimation of the gross ecological impacts of river regulation.
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ALEXANDRU, Roxana, and Valentin-Costinel TOTIR. "RUSSIAN MILITARY DIVERSION – MASKIROVKA, USED IN THE BLACK SEA AREA." STRATEGIES XXI - Command and Staff College 17, no. 1 (July 21, 2021): 147–52. http://dx.doi.org/10.53477/2668-2028-21-17.
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Abstract: Taking into consideration the influence this doctrine has, being used in the maritime environment, over the Black Sea riparian countries, we consider that the analysis of its effects is an element of novelty and interest. The research methods used are observation, analysis and description. At the end of this article, we attempted to identify a pattern of the methods used to implement this doctrine in the Black Sea region. To this purpose, in order to identify the doctrine’s general framework, we will take into consideration threats and risks, indications and warnings. Through this approach, we wish to address specialists, researchers and students who want to analyze these issues and develop courses of action, in order to give an optimate response, in the conditions of a maritime or riverine threat.
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McIntyre, S., K. M. Heard, and T. G. Martin. "How grassland plants are distributed over five human-created habitats typical of eucalypt woodlands in a variegated landscape." Pacific Conservation Biology 7, no. 4 (2001): 274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/pc020274.
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A sample of 212 quadrats in grassland vegetation was collected in eucalypt woodlands in sub-tropical Queensland. These included roadside (53 sites), native pasture (109), riparian zone (20), sown pasture (16) and crop (14) habitats. A total of 350 species and subspecies was recorded of which 89 species were identified as being locally rare (native species of <3% frequency, not specialists of other habitats). Forty-three species were collected in addition to the quadrat records. Multivariate analysis indicated the major difference in floristic composition was between roadsides and native pastures, versus the other three habitats. The second axis separated roadside from native pasture vegetation, and the third axis separated riparian sites from all the rest. Crop and sown pasture habitats were the most similar in composition. The grazing practices in this region have enabled the persistence of grasslands that are of national significance in conservation terms. The variegated nature of the landscape is demonstrated by the occurrence of native grassland species across all the human-created habitats, including native species that were unique to intensive land uses. However, our results also show that intensive land uses (cropping, sown pastures) are more of a threat to the conservation status of grasslands than is cattle grazing, even at commercial levels of stocking. Species at most immediate risk are those that are sensitive to commercial cattle grazing and to intensive land uses such as crops and sown pastures.
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Altaba, Cristian R. "Once a land of big wild rivers: specialism is context-dependent for riparian snails (Pulmonata: Valloniidae) in central Europe." Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 115, no. 4 (April 23, 2015): 826–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bij.12546.
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Finch, Deborah M. "Positive associations among riparian bird species correspond to elevational changes in plant communities." Canadian Journal of Zoology 69, no. 4 (April 1, 1991): 951–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-139.
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Bird count data were used to characterize patterns of abundance and distribution among 20 bird species occupying streamside habitats of the central Rocky Mountains. Cluster analysis classified bird assemblages from 10 study plots into three elevational zones that varied in bird species diversity. Monotonic declines in total bird densities over the elevational gradient corresponded to spatial fluctuations in population levels of a few numerically dominant species. Of 190 correlations in counts of species pairs, 48 were significant, a much greater proportion than that expected by chance. Only 12 of the 48 associations were negative, suggesting that current competition may be less important than other processes in structuring these communities. Five suites of the positively associating species were detected using cluster, correlational, and variance analyses. Aggregated species responded to habitat ecotones by simultaneously increasing or decreasing in abundance. Group composition was dependent on patterns of species distribution among elevational zones, and on whether species were specialists or generalists in habitat use. Abundances of 19 species were related to five habitat gradients created by principal components analysis of habitat structure. A reasonable explanation for positive covariance in bird abundance is that species responded similarly to limiting resources that were associated with elevational zones.
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Mazzei, Antonio, Teresa Bonacci, Carmen Gangale, Roberto Pizzolotto, and Pietro Brandmayr. "Functional species traits of carabid beetles living in two riparian alder forests of the Sila plateau subject to different disturbance factors (Coleoptera: Carabidae)." Fragmenta Entomologica 47, no. 1 (June 30, 2015): 37. http://dx.doi.org/10.4081/fe.2015.132.
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We studied carabid beetle assemblages found in riparian black alder forests in the Sila plateau (Southern Apennines). These carabid assemblages are characterized by a high incidence of endemic small-sized, low dispersal, highly stenotopic (hygrophilic), and trophycally specialized species. To evaluate the influence of anthropogenic disturbance on these insects, we compared carabid assemblage of an old undisturbed forest (65-170y, wilderness landscape) with that of a younger, partly grazed stand (40-60y, cropland landscape). The carabid assemblage of the disturbed stand was characterized by a higher number of species, but showed a lower incidence of zoophagous specialists and brachypterous beetles, with many species probably coming from an adjacent cropland. However, the disturbed stand maintains almost 80% of the core species found in the older forest, which suggests that these insects are not particularly sensitive to disturbance factors represented by periodic wood harvesting and extensive cattle grazing.
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Neate-Clegg, Montague H. C., Emily C. Morshuis, and Cristina Banks-Leite. "Edge effects in the avifaunal community of riparian rain-forest tracts in Tropical North Queensland." Journal of Tropical Ecology 32, no. 4 (June 3, 2016): 280–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0266467416000249.
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AbstractMost evidence suggests anthropogenic edges negatively affect rain-forest bird communities but little has been done to test this in Australasia. In this study, avifaunal detection frequency, species richness and community composition were compared between the edge and interior and between flat and more complex-shaped edges of riparian rain-forest tracts in Tropical North Queensland. The detection frequency and richness of guilds based on diet, foraging strata and habitat specialism were also compared. This study detected 15.1% more birds at the rain-forest edge compared with the interior but no difference in species richness. Edge shape had no effect on detection frequency or richness. Many guilds (subcanopy, closed forest, frugivorous and insectivorous species) experienced increased detection frequency at the edge relative to the interior, but for some guilds this response was reduced (habitat generalists) or reversed (understorey and mixed-flock species) along complex edges. Overall community composition was affected by edge distance but not by edge shape. Edge habitat was shorter and had more open canopy than the interior, supporting habitat-based explanations for the observed avifaunal edge effects. These results suggest generally positive edge effects in Australian rain-forest bird communities, possibly reflecting local resource distributions or a disturbance-tolerant species pool.
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Boulet, Marylène, Marcel Darveau, and Louis Bélanger. "Nest predation and breeding activity of songbirds in riparian and nonriparian black spruce strips of central Quebec." Canadian Journal of Forest Research 33, no. 5 (May 1, 2003): 922–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/x03-029.
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The black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests of Quebec are often harvested according to a single-pass system where clearcuts are separated by 20- to 60-m-wide forest strips. Little is known about the suitability of these strips as habitats for breeding birds. We selected five nonriparian strips, five riparian strips, and five forest control sites located in a forested area of central Quebec. During 19971998, we monitored the predation of artificial bird nests baited with a common quail (Coturnix coturnix L.) egg and a plasticine egg and the breeding activity of adult songbirds in strips and controls. Artificial nest predation was high in all sites (72%). The most common predators were specialists of mature coniferous forests: gray jays (Perisoreus canadensis L.) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Erxleben). In forest-dwelling bird species, the number of breeding pairs was lower in strips than in controls. We conclude that the small number of forest-dwelling breeding birds observed in strips is not related to an increase in predation pressure following harvest of adjacent forests and that forest strips are not suitable breeding habitats for these species.
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Freitas, Tiago Magalhães da Silva, Vitor Hudson da Consolação Almeida, Roberta de Melo Valente, and Luciano Fogaça de Assis Montag. "Feeding ecology of Auchenipterichthys longimanus (Siluriformes: Auchenipteridae) in a riparian flooded forest of Eastern Amazonia, Brazil." Neotropical Ichthyology 9, no. 3 (September 9, 2011): 629–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1679-62252011005000032.
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Feeding habits of the midnight catfish Auchenipterichthys longimanus collected in rivers of the Caxiuanã National Forest (Eastern Amazonia, Brazil) were investigated through the different hydrological periods (dry, filing, flood and drawdown). A total of 589 specimens were collected throughout seven samplings between July 2008 and July 2009, of which 74 were young males, 177 adult males, 89 young females and 249 adult females. The diet composition (Alimentary index - Ai%) was analyzed by a non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) and by the analysis of similarity (ANOSIM), which included 37 items grouped into nine categories (Aquatic insects, Other aquatic invertebrates, Arthropods fragment, Fish, Plant fragment, Seeds, Terrestrial insects, Other terrestrial invertebrates, and Terrestrial vertebrates). We also calculated the niche breadth (Levins index) and the repletion index (RI%). Differences in the diet composition between hydrological seasons were registered, primarily on diet composition between dry and flood season, but changes related with sex and maturity were not observed. The midnight catfish showed more specialists feeder habit in the flood period (March 2009) and more generalist habits in the dry season (November 2008). The amount of food eaten by A. longimanus based on repletion index (RI%), did not differ significantly from sex and maturity. However, we evidenced differences in RI% when comparing the studied months. These results provide important biological information about the trophic ecology of auchenipterids fish. In view of the higher occurrence of allochthonous items, this research also underpins the importance of riparian forests as critical environments in the maintenance and conservation of wild populations of fish in the Amazon basin.
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Şekercioğlu, Çağan H., Chase D. Mendenhall, Federico Oviedo-Brenes, Joshua J. Horns, Paul R. Ehrlich, and Gretchen C. Daily. "Long-term declines in bird populations in tropical agricultural countryside." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 20 (April 29, 2019): 9903–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1802732116.
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Tropical agriculture is a major driver of biodiversity loss, yet it can provide conservation opportunities, especially where protected areas are inadequate. To investigate the long-term biodiversity capacity of agricultural countryside, we quantified bird population trends in Costa Rica by mist netting 57,255 birds of 265 species between 1999 and 2010 in sun coffee plantations, riparian corridors, secondary forests, forest fragments, and primary forest reserves. More bird populations (69) were declining than were stable (39) or increasing (4). Declines were common in resident, insectivorous, and more specialized species. There was no relationship between the species richness of a habitat and its conservation value. High-value forest bird communities were characterized by their distinct species composition and habitat and dietary functional signatures. While 49% of bird species preferred forest to coffee, 39% preferred coffee to forest and 12% used both habitats, indicating that coffee plantations have some conservation value. Coffee plantations, although lacking most of the forest specialists, hosted 185 bird species, had the highest capture rates, and supported increasing numbers of some forest species. Coffee plantations with higher tree cover (7% vs. 13%) had more species with increasing capture rates, twice as many forest specialists, and half as many nonforest species. Costa Rican countryside habitats, especially those with greater tree cover, host many bird species and are critical for connecting bird populations in forest remnants. Diversified agricultural landscapes can enhance the biodiversity capacity of tropical countryside, but, for the long-term persistence of all forest bird species, large (>1,000 ha) protected areas are essential.
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Ridha, Mohammad Ali, Mirza Dikari Kusrini, Ani Mardiastuti, and Nancy Karraker. "THE AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF RAWA AOPA WATUMOHAI NATIONAL PARK, SOUTHEAST SULAWESI." Media Konservasi 26, no. 2 (October 17, 2021): 128–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.29244/medkon.26.2.128-138.
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Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park (105.194 ha) in Southeast Sulawesi is one of the important conservation areas in Wallacea. This study aimed to measure the diversity of herpetofauna, relative abundance and community similarity in four different habitats. Survey were conducted in January-April 2018 using Visual Encounter Survey (VES) based on time and transects in savanna, riparian, lowland forest, and mangrove. Forty-two species from 17 families were found consisting of 10 species of amphibians and 32 species of reptiles, in which 9 species are endemic i.e. Papurana celebensis and Draco beccarii. The highest diversity (H’) and evenness (E) indexes was found in lowland forest (H’ = 2.497, E = 0.555). The most abundant amphibian was Limnonectes modestus with 85 individuals (23.8%), while the most abundant reptile was Crocodylus porosus with 24 individuals (6.7%). The similarity of communities between the four habitats was low (<0.5), indicating that most species are specialists on particular habitats. Although diversity was relatively low in Rawa Aopa Watumohai National Park, high endemism warrants ongoing efforts to conserve amphibians and reptiles in this national park.
Key words: herpetofauna diversity, Indonesia, lowland forest, national park, Sulawesi
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Pilliod, David S., Robert S. Arkle, Russell F. Thurow, and Daniel J. Isaak. "Hydroclimatic Conditions, Wildfire, and Species Assemblages Influence Co-Occurrence of Bull Trout and Tailed Frogs in Northern Rocky Mountain Streams." Water 14, no. 7 (April 5, 2022): 1162. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w14071162.
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Although bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and tailed frogs (Ascaphus montanus) have co-existed in forested Pacific Northwest streams for millennia, these iconic cold-water specialists are experiencing rapid environmental change caused by a warming climate and enhanced wildfire activity. Our goal was to inform future conservation by examining the habitat associations of each species and conditions that facilitate co-occupancy. We repurposed data from previous studies in the northern Rocky Mountains to assess the efficacy of bull trout electrofishing surveys for determining the occurrence of tailed frogs and the predictive capacity of habitat covariates derived from in-stream measurements and geospatial sources to model distributions of both species. Electrofishing reliably detected frog presence (89.2% rate). Both species were strongly associated with stream temperature and flow regime characteristics, and less responsive to riparian canopy cover, slope, and other salmonids. Tailed frogs were also sensitive to wildfire, with occupancy probability peaking around 80 years after a fire. Co-occupancy was most probable in locations with low-to-moderate frequencies of high winter flow events, few other salmonids, a low base-flow index, and intermediate years since fire. The distributions of these species appear to be sensitive to environmental conditions that are changing this century in forests of the northern Rocky Mountains. The amplification of climate-driven effects after wildfire may prove to be particularly problematic in the future. Habitat differences between these two species, considered to be headwater specialists, suggest that conservation measures designed for one may not fully protect the other. Additional studies involving future climate and wildfire scenarios are needed to assess broader conservation strategies and the potential to identify refuge streams where both species are likely to persist, or complementary streams where each could exist separately into the future.
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Pérez-Nicolás, Mónica, Heike Vibrans, and Angélica Romero-Manzanares. "Can the use of medicinal plants motivate forest conservation in the humid mountains of Northern Oaxaca, Mexico?" Botanical Sciences 96, no. 2 (June 19, 2018): 267. http://dx.doi.org/10.17129/botsci.1862.
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<p><strong>Background.</strong> Non-timber forest products are being integrated into conservation strategies. Medicinal plants are considered a reason to conserve the source forests.</p><p><strong>Question</strong>. Can the use of medicinal plants motivate forest conservation?</p><p><strong>Study site and dates.</strong> The study was conducted in Santiago Camotlán, Distrito Villa Alta, Oaxaca, a humid mountainous area in the Sierra Norte of Oaxaca, Mexico, from August 2011 to May 2013.</p><p><strong>Methods.</strong> Ecological Land Units were characterized, and the relative importance of medicinal plants was evaluated. The ethnobotanical methods included participatory mapping, open interviews, semi-structured interviews and free lists with local specialists, as well as members of 17 systematically selected households, collection of characteristic and medicinal plant species, and plant walks with local specialists. For each species, a newly proposed Knowledge, Use and Perception Index based frequency of mention in free lists, frequency of use and perceived importance was calculated.</p><p><strong>Results.</strong> Local people divided their territory primarily by physical geographic characteristics and utilization. Nine units were distinguished: village and roads, home gardens, pastures, cultivated fields (maize, beans, sugar cane and coffee), cloud forest, semi-evergreen tropical forest and evergreen tropical forest, secondary growth (<em>acahuales</em>), and riparian vegetation. The most important medicinal plants were <em>Salvia microphylla</em>, <em>Lippia alba</em> and <em>Artemisia absinthium</em>, all cultivated in home gardens; weedy vegetation provided the majority of all medicinal plants. Individuals interested in preserving medicinal species transplanted them into a home garden.</p><p><strong>Conclusion.</strong> For people in the study area, the presence and use of medicinal plants was not a decisive reason for forest conservation.</p>
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Sandin, Leonard, Astrid Schmidt-Kloiber, Jens-Christian Svenning, Erik Jeppesen, and Nikolai Friberg. "A trait-based approach to assess climate change sensitivity of freshwater invertebrates across Swedish ecoregions." Current Zoology 60, no. 2 (April 1, 2014): 221–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/60.2.221.
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Abstract Freshwater habitats and organisms are among the most threatened on Earth, and freshwater ecosystems have been subject to large biodiversity losses. We developed a Climate Change Sensitivity (CCS) indicator based on trait information for a selection of stream- and lake-dwelling Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera taxa. We calculated the CCS scores based on ten species traits identified as sensitive to global climate change. We then assessed climate change sensitivity between the six main ecoregions of Sweden as well as the three Swedish regions based on Illies. This was done using biological data from 1, 382 stream and lake sites where we compared large-scale (ecoregional) patterns in climate change sensitivity with potential future exposure of these ecosystems to increased temperatures using ensemble-modelled future changes in air temperature. Current (1961~1990) measured temperature and ensemble-modelled future (2100) temperature showed an increase from the northernmost towards the southern ecoregions, whereas the predicted temperature change increased from south to north. The CCS indicator scores were highest in the two northernmost boreal ecoregions where we also can expect the largest global climate change-induced increase in temperature, indicating an unfortunate congruence of exposure and sensitivity to climate change. These results are of vital importance when planning and implementing management and conservation strategies in freshwater ecosystems, e.g., to mitigate increased temperatures using riparian buffer strips. We conclude that traits information on taxa specialization, e.g., in terms of feeding specialism or taxa having a preference for high altitudes as well as sensitivity to changes in temperature are important when assessing the risk from future global climate change to freshwater ecosystems.
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Locklear, James H. "Endemic plants of the central grassland of North America: distribution, ecology, and conservation status." Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 11, no. 1 (July 24, 2017): 193–234. http://dx.doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v11.i1.1172.
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This paper enumerates the endemic plants of the Central Grassland of North America. The Central Grassland encompasses the full extent of the tallgrass, mixed-grass, and shortgrass prairie ecological systems of North America plus floristically related plant communities that adjoin and/or interdigitate with the midcontinental grasslands including savanna-open woodland systems, shrub-steppe, and rock outcrop communities. There are 382 plant taxa endemic to the Central Grassland, 300 endemic species (eight of which have multiple subspecific taxa endemic to the region) and 72 endemic subspecies/varieties of more widely distributed species. Nine regional concentrations of endemic taxa were identified and are described as centers of endemism for the Central Grassland: Arkansas Valley Barrens, Edwards Plateau, Llano Estacado Escarpments, Llano Uplift, Mescalero-Monahans Dunes, Niobrara-Platte Tablelands, Raton Tablelands, Red Bed Plains, and Reverchon Rocklands. In addition to hosting localized endemics, these areas are typically enriched with more widely-distributed Central Grassland endemics as well as peripheral or disjunct occurrences of locally-rare taxa, making them regions of high floristic diversity for the Central Grassland. Most of the endemics (299 or 78%) are habitat specialists, associated with rock outcrop, sand, hydric, or riparian habitats. There is a strong correlation between geology and endemism in the Central Grassland, with 59% of the endemics (225 taxa) associated with rock outcrop habitat. Of the 382 Central Grassland endemics, 124 or 33% are of conservation concern (NatureServe ranking of G1/T1 to G3/T3). Of these at-risk taxa, 78 or 63% are primarily associated with one of the centers of endemism identified in the study. It is hoped these findings will be useful in focusing conservation action on the habitats, ecological associations, and regions of the Central Grassland that host the highest concentrations of unique and at-risk plant species and associated biological diversity.
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Pohl, Greg, David Langor, Jan Klimaszewski, Timothy Work, and Pierre Paquin. "Rove beetles (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae) in northern Nearctic forests." Canadian Entomologist 140, no. 4 (August 2008): 415–36. http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/n07-ls03.
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AbstractRove beetles are useful subjects for Nearctic forest biodiversity work because they are abundant, diverse, and easily collected, and have strong habitat affinities. Excellent identification keys exist for most groups, although there is a dearth of ecological and life-history information. There is considerable variation in species composition and abundance within the active summer season and in abundance from year to year. Community composition varies among larger geographical regions and to a lesser extent among forest types in more localized areas. Within the Nearctic boreal forest there are significant differences between beetle communities from the eastern and western portions. For the most part, the same species tend to dominate rove beetle communities in the western boreal forest. At the landscape level there are differences in rove beetle communities along successional gradients. In the boreal forest the communities of younger aspen-dominated and older conifer-dominated stands are somewhat distinct, with intermediate-aged stands containing a mix of the two communities. At the ecosite and microsite level there is significant variation, which remains poorly understood. Fire is the dominant mode of disturbance in the Nearctic boreal forest. It has a profound effect on rove beetles by destroying the forest communities and resetting the successional trajectory to the earliest stages. The burn pattern results in a patchwork of different communities at various stages in the successional cycle. In contrast to fire, forest harvesting does not directly destroy the rove beetle community, but to a large extent it destroys the forest habitat. This results in a unique rove beetle community characterized by a mix of forest species and open-ground specialists, and overall high diversity in this period of flux. In the years after harvesting, the rove beetle community goes through successional changes and becomes more similar to the forest community, but it skips the early postfire stage and proceeds along the successional trajectory more rapidly than after fire. In at least one forest type in western Canada, the post-fire and post-harvest communities, though similar, have not converged after 29 years. Other less direct effects of harvesting on rove beetles are a decrease in the proportion of the land base suitable for communities associated with older successional stages; alteration of forests by post-harvest site preparations and planting of exotic tree species; edge and fragmentation effects that are detrimental to the remaining forest surrounding harvested areas; and an influx of exotic arthropod species with affinities for disturbed sites. More information is needed on the habitat affinities of individual species. It is recommended that future work explore the effects of post-harvest forestry activities, fragmentation, and edges on rove beetles in forested habitats. As well, such studies should consider the effects on beetles of riparian zones and wetlands.
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Van Looy, Kris, Cyril Cavillon, Thierry Tormos, Jérémy Piffady, Philippe Landry, and Yves Souchon. "Are generalist and specialist species influenced differently by anthropogenic stressors and physical environment of riparian corridors?" Riparian Ecology and Conservation 1 (January 14, 2013). http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/remc-2013-0004.
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Letourneau, Deborah K., Sara G. Bothwell Allen, Robert R. Kula, Michael J. Sharkey, and John O. Stireman III. "Habitat eradication and cropland intensification may reduce parasitoid diversity and natural pest control services in annual crop fields." Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene 3 (January 1, 2015). http://dx.doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000069.
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Abstract California’s central coast differs from many agricultural areas in the U.S., which feature large tracts of monoculture production fields and relatively simple landscapes. Known as the nations salad bowl, and producing up to 90% of U.S. production of lettuces, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, this region is a mosaic of fresh vegetable fields, coastal meadow, chaparral shrubs, riparian and woodland habitat. We tested for relationships between the percent cover of crops, riparian and other natural landscape vegetation and the species richness of parasitic wasps and flies foraging in crops, such as broccoli, kale and cauliflower, and interpreted our results with respect to the decrease in natural habitat and increase in cropland cover prompted by a local microbial contamination event in 2006. Our key results are that: (1) as cropland cover in the landscape increased, fewer species of parasitoids were captured in the crop field, (2) parasitoid richness overall was positively associated with the amount of riparian and other natural vegetation in the surrounding 500m, (3) different groups of parasitoids were associated with unique types of natural vegetation, and (4) parasitism rates of sentinel cabbage aphid and cabbage looper pests were correlated with landscape vegetation features according to which parasitoids caused the mortality. Although individual species of parasitoids may thrive in landscapes that are predominantly short season crops, the robust associations found in this study across specialist and generalist parasitoids and different taxa (tachinid flies, ichneumon wasps, braconid wasps) shows that recent food safety practices targeting removal of natural vegetation around vegetable fields in an attempt to eliminate wildlife may harm natural enemy communities and reduce ecosystem services. We argue that enhancing biological diversity is a key goal for transforming agroecosystems for future productivity, sustainability and public health.
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Habel, Jan Christian, Mike Teucher, Patrick Gros, Verena Gfrerer, and Jonas Eberle. "The importance of dynamic open-canopy woodlands for the conservation of a specialist butterfly species." Landscape Ecology, June 29, 2022. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10980-022-01472-2.
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Abstract Context Intensification of land-use caused a reduction of ecosystem heterogeneity and diversity, and subsequently led to dramatic decrease of biodiversity. Species depending on dynamic ecosystems are particularly affected from this trend of land-use intensification, landscape homogenization, and the optimization of land-use. Forest species suffer under the intensification of forest management, in the worst case transforming light and heterogeneous deciduous forests into species-poor intensively used deciduous forests optimized for wood production. This lead to the destruction of a mosaic consisting of various successional stages in parallel. Objective In this study we analyse the relevance of forest heterogeneity, forest disturbance and microhabitat preferences of egg oviposition and larval development for a highly endangered butterfly species, Euphydryas maturna. This butterfly species mainly occurs in light and moist deciduous forests, such as riparian forests along mountain streams in northern Austria. Methods We combine detailed field observations with high resolution aerial pictures taken with an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) to build ensemble habitat suitability models from GAM, GBM, GLM, and Maxent models. Results We found that egg ovipositions take place exclusively on the tree species Fraxinus excelsior, preferably exposed to the south, partly shaded, and at medium height (3 m). Our habitat suitability models based on high resolution aerial pictures indicate that egg ovipositions are clustered and accumulate along forest edges and at sites with high forest heterogeneity. Conclusion Our study underlines the high relevance and importance of light deciduous forest structures with environmental dynamics creating the preconditions of specific microhabitat structures for endangered species, such as E. maturna. Our study shows that UAV-captured high precision aerial imagery are well suited to optimally connect two spatial scales, the ecosystem and microhabitat scale.
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Vashistha, Gaurav, Ninad Avinash Mungi, Jeffrey W. Lang, Vivek Ranjan, Parag Madhukar Dhakate, Faiyaz Ahmad Khudsar, and David Kothamasi. "Gharial nesting in a reservoir is limited by reduced river flow and by increased bank vegetation." Scientific Reports 11, no. 1 (February 26, 2021). http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84143-7.
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AbstractThe gharial (Gavialis gangeticus Gmelin) is a fish-eating specialist crocodylian, endemic to south Asia, and critically endangered in its few remaining wild localities. A secondary gharial population resides in riverine-reservoir habitat adjacent to the Nepal border, within the Katerniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS), and nests along a 10 km riverbank of the Girwa River. A natural channel shift in the mainstream Karnali River (upstream in Nepal) has reduced seasonal flow in the Girwa stretch where gharials nest, coincident with a gradual loss of nest sites, which in turn was related to an overall shift to woody vegetation at these sites. To understand how these changes in riparian vegetation on riverbanks were related to gharial nesting, we sampled vegetation at these sites from 2017 to 2019, and derived an Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from LANDSAT 8 satellite data to quantify riverside vegetation from 1988 through 2019. We found that sampled sites transitioned to woody cover, the number of nesting sites declined, and the number of nests were reduced by > 40%. At these sites, after the channel shift, woody vegetation replaced open sites that predominated prior to the channel shift. Our findings indicate that the lack of open riverbanks and the increase in woody vegetation at potential nesting sites threatens the reproductive success of the KWS gharial population. This population persists today in a regulated river ecosystem, and nests in an altered riparian habitat which appears to be increasingly unsuitable for the continued successful recruitment of breeding adults. This second-ranking, critically endangered remnant population may have incurred an "extinction debt" by living in a reservoir that will lead to its eventual extirpation.
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Rosamond, Kristen M., Sandra Goded, Alaaeldin Soultan, Rachel H. Kaplan, Alex Glass, Daniel H. Kim, and Nico Arcilla. "Not Singing in the Rain: Linking Migratory Songbird Declines With Increasing Precipitation and Brood Parasitism Vulnerability." Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8 (November 26, 2020). http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.536769.
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Few empirical studies have quantified relationships between changing weather and migratory songbirds, but such studies are vital in a time of rapid climate change. Climate change has critical consequences for avian breeding ecology, geographic ranges, and migration phenology. Changing precipitation and temperature patterns affect habitat, food resources, and other aspects of birds’ life history strategies. Such changes may disproportionately affect species confined to rare or declining ecosystems, such as temperate grasslands, which are among the most altered and endangered ecosystems globally. We examined the influence of changing weather on the dickcissel (Spiza americana), a migratory songbird of conservation concern that is an obligate grassland specialist. Our study area in the North American Great Plains features high historic weather variability, where climate change is now driving higher precipitation and temperatures as well as higher frequencies of extreme weather events including flooding and droughts. Dickcissels share their breeding grounds with brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater), brood parasites that lay their eggs in the nests of other songbirds, reducing dickcissel productivity. We used 9 years of capture-recapture data collected over an 18-year period to test the hypothesis that increasing precipitation on dickcissels’ riparian breeding grounds is associated with abundance declines and increasing vulnerability to cowbird parasitism. Dickcissels declined with increasing June precipitation, whereas cowbirds, by contrast, increased. Dickcissel productivity appeared to be extremely low, with a 3:1 ratio of breeding male to female dickcissels likely undermining reproductive success. Our findings suggest that increasing precipitation predicted by climate change models in this region may drive future declines of dickcissels and other songbirds. Drivers of these declines may include habitat and food resource loss related to flooding and higher frequency precipitation events as well as increased parasitism pressure by cowbirds. Positive correlations of June-July precipitation, temperature, and time since grazing with dickcissel productivity did not mitigate dickcissels’ declining trend in this ecosystem. These findings highlight the importance of empirical research on the effects of increasing precipitation and brood parasitism vulnerability on migratory songbird conservation to inform adaptive management under climate change.
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Dettling, Mark D., Kristen E. Dybala, Diana L. Humple, and Thomas Gardali. "Protected areas safeguard landbird populations in central coastal California: Evidence from long-term population trends." Ornithological Applications, August 4, 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ornithapp/duab035.
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Abstract Many bird populations have experienced population declines across North America over the past several decades. The establishment of protected areas has been used as a conservation action to maintain or help in the recovery of these populations; however, the effectiveness of protected areas in safeguarding bird populations within their borders from negative impacts to populations in surrounding unprotected areas has rarely been evaluated. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of protected areas in the San Francisco Bay Area of California for landbirds. We conducted point count surveys along riparian corridors in coastal Marin County in protected areas, predominately national parks, and estimated the population growth rates for 14 species over 23 years. We compared these growth rates to North American Breeding Bird Survey growth rate estimates from the Coastal California and the Northern Pacific Rainforest Bird Conservation Regions, which comprise larger, regional populations. A safeguarding effect was detected for 9 of the 14 species. We expected an effect on species strongly associated with riparian vegetation, which has incurred significant loss and degradation in the region; however, we instead observed benefits to general riparian users that were at least as great as the benefits to strong riparian specialists. We also expected that populations of resident species might benefit more than migrants; however, we found strong support for a safeguarding effect for both groups. Species with increasing growth rates in coastal Marin County protected areas in comparison to regionally stable or decreasing populations demonstrate the potential for protected areas to not only maintain populations despite declines outside their boundaries but also to help them recover from current and previous losses. Continuing long-term monitoring and associated full life cycle research will help identify if and when other drivers (e.g., climate change) may weaken these safeguarding effects, or when additional conservation and management is warranted.